Who should take the certification training?
Attend if you want to be a quality financial professional to retirees and cannot answer these questions: - What tax rate does a retiree pay on their social security income?
- What are three ways a senior can avoid current capital gains tax when selling investment property?
- Give an example of why a retiree would name a trust as their IRA beneficiary?
What's the one feature in an equity indexed annuity that most dilutes the return to the owner? - Are the benefits of a non-qualified long-term care policy taxable and if so, are there any offsets?
- If a policyholder transfers his insurance policy to an ILIT and funds the ILIT annually to pay the premium, is the policy included in his estate?
- How do you calculate the exclusion ratio on a life annuity?
- Why should retirees always rollover their qualified plan account balance from their employer to an IRA as it pertains to beneficiaries?
- How can a retiree purchase life insurance with pre-tax money?
- Should a growth mutual fund be held inside or outside an IRA? An S&P index fund?
- What's the approximate dividend rate on the average New York Stock Exchange Stock?
Attend if you are a stockbroker, investment advisor, insurance agent, financial planner or financial advisor of any type who: - Is committed to having retirees get the best possible advice and live a comfortable retirement
- Wants to be well informed before giving advice, rather than saying things that may not be 100% accurate-and that may come back to you later
- Thinks that any retiree should get the same quality financial advice you want for your retired mother or grandmother
- Realizes that the most important job in your limited time on the planet is to serve other people and serve them well
- Thinks that today's retirees, the people who fought in World War Two and preserved freedom for you and your children, deserve to get the best possible financial advice as a small act of gratitude for what they did
- Believes in doing the best job you can, every day, and getting the training that makes that possible
- Desires to attract and serve clients from the wealthy retiree market
Top Do I need to be securities licensed?
No. You will, however, learn a lot about investment issues so that the level of your advice is so much better when recommending insurance or other non-securities products or services. How can you competently give insurance recommendations when you don't understand investment issues and how can an investment professional give competent advice if they don't understand insurance issues? When you leave this training, you will understand the complete landscape of retiree financial issues and how to provide the very best advice. You will have a more comprehensive expertise in retiree financial issues than any stockbroker, insurance agent or CPA. CRFA recommends that all financial advisors become dually licensed with both securities and insurance. How will you combat Broker/Dealer firms prohibiting the use of the designation? If you look at the attached Compliance Alert, you'll see that my broker/dealer has prohibited my using such a designation. All we can do is make sure that the CRFA™ credential is respected and accredited. Click Here for a Progess Update on Accreditation. There is nothing we can do to make any BD come to logical or illogical conclusions. They can each do as they want. Some BDs already allow use of the CRFA™ credential and you can always join a BD that supports your desires. You could also become an RICA and not need a BD. The education is invaluable even if a rep does not use the credential on their cards/stationery. CRFA continues to lobby the press, regulators and legislators to set standards that will leave only the credentials with substance remaining and is one of the primary reasons for becoming only the second financial designation to receive accreditation in the country. I have another senior credential, CSA, and it has drawn significant regulatory attention and it has been banned by a number of companies due to ethics issues. What is being done to prevent this from being just another designation? Because we know that the CSA designation does not provide the rigorous training that serious financial advisors desire, we have a special 20% tuition discount for those who hold the CSA designation. We do not give our exam on the last day of class, as additional study time is usually required. We enforce the 15 hours of annual CE and the CRFA™ program has been approved for 30 CE units by the CFP® Board. In other words, this is the real thing—dense content that meets rigorous industry standards: - Two years experience in financial services now mandatory to gain CRFA™ designation
- Rigorous content
- Proctored exam
- Exam pass rate on first try at 60%
- Ethics CE required annually
With respect to the brochures, are there any ongoing licensing fees to use the marketing materials? Can we redesign them to have the look and feel of our firm’s marketing pieces? Yes, you could create your own brochure. Once you graduate from the program, we give you access to the logo for print or on line formats. There is an annual fee each year to: - retain use of the credential
- participate in any continuing education classes at no cost
How vital is CRFA™ designation if the CPA of CFP® is already there? - CPA brands the advisor as a "tax specialist" in the mind of the lay person.
- CFP® brands the advisor as a financial planning generalist.
- Certified Retirement Financial Advisor™ brands the advisor as a specialist in retiree financial issues.
Top What can I expect to gain from the certification? - Be one of the elite advisors who hold the CRFA™ credential
- Gain comprehensive knowledge of serving ALL retiree financial needs and be their only advisor
- Even if you only offer specific products or services, you will learn to work with other advisors
- Benefit by marketing of the CRFA™ designation to affluent retirees
- Learn to manage investments, present insurance, and craft air-tight retiree financial plans
- Learn how to “un-sell” the retiree’s current portfolio and move money from their current advisor
- Participate in CRFA system for retiree referrals
Will my broker/dealer let me use what I learn?
No one can stop you from using an education. Any printed materials you want to use with the public will of course, need to reviewed by your broker dealer. Click here for information on accreditation Top Will my broker dealer/insurance company let me use the credential?
That’s a company by company issue—some will, some won’t. But if they don’t, whenever you meet with a new prospect, you always have two minutes when you say “Let me tell you a little about myself” and you will explain that you have been through specialized training for retirees, that you passed a 100 question exam and you will point to the CRFA™ certificate on your wall. Click here for information on accreditation Do I need any special license to attend?
No. However, this training is not for new people in the business and assumes you have two years experience or basic knowledge of insurance, investments, and taxes that any financial professional should have. Who is accrediting CRFA? Training format changes are due to the new policies being implemented by the SCRFA board of directors. These changes are necessary in order to become only the second accredited financial certification. In addition, the SCRFA board wanted the training format to be consistent with the new Mid America Christian University CRFA training curriculm, which will be accredited through the educational system.These changes will also enable the CRFA credential to be quickly approved by applicants who work with broker dealers and insurance companies. These modifications will also meet changing state insurance department guidelines and match the NASAA model rule regarding financial certifications. Currently, CRFA is appropriate for use in the vast majority of all states. CRFA has received preliminary approval from some regulated states and the SCRFA is waiting on written documentation from the appropriate state agencies. When that documentation is received, SCRFA will forward the documents to all other regulated states in order to receive duplicate approval.
How is this different from CSA?
The CRFA™ training is an education and designation focused only on advanced financial issues and is specifically for financial advisors. The Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) designation is not a financial designation and not focused on financial advisors who deal specifically with financial issues of seniors—it's a general training that covers everything from health, spirituality, housing, etc. regarding seniors. Click Here to See a Comparison with Other Certifications including CSA. I am a CSA, should I become a CRFA™?
The CSA training is general and not financially focused. Many elder care workers, social workers, nurses, gerontologists, etc. take that training. If you want a specific and advanced financial education for working with, attracting and providing financial advice and/or management to affluent retired clients, then take the CRFA™ training. Many CSAs also take the CRFA™ training. Top Are there continuing education requirements and renewal fees?
Yes. There is an annual renewal fee along with 15 continuing education credits required to maintain the right to use the credential. The Society offers CE via web training on a retiree financial issues, and by attending and passing the online quiz that will count as one credit. What issues are covered on your continuing education teleconferences? - New research on financial issues that impact retirees
- Tax changes that affect retirees
- Use of life insurance in a qualified plan
- Use of an irrevocable trust with the grantor's right to invade principal
- Etc.
What is the process for being listed on the CRFA website for client referrals?
All CRFAs™ graduates in good standing are listed for free. Top How is the CRFA™ directory being publicized and how many retirees will know about it?
There is no way to tell how many retirees will see your listing. That will largely be due to whether or not you market the CRFA designation on your advertising materials. Confirmation of your credentials is the most likely use of a retiree searching the CRFA website and advisor listings. Currently, more than 10,000 people have searched the CRFA website. Is there a self-study program available for those who cannot attend but would like to test for the credential?
This program is being discontinued due the accreditation process (Click Here for a Progess Update on Accreditation) however, the self study training inventory will be sold until the end of 2009, or until the final copies are gone, whichever comes first. Call 888-880-2732 and ask for Lynda McColl. How much study time is needed before taking the test?
The amount of study time needed is a function of one's background knowledge. After the online and live training, more study is highly recommended as first time pass rates average 60%. You take the test at a SMT ISO Testing center when you are ready. Do you offer help in preparing for the exam?
Yes. We offer monthly CRFA Exam Review sessions to CRFA candidates which focus on how to do well on the CRFA exam after studying the material. Each topic in the CRFA course syllabus is addressed, explaining what key concepts/theories and types of calculations to focus on for the exam. What course material is and is not on the exam?
The technical material is what will be covered in the exam. Top How and where is the exam administered?
The exam is not administered at the live training. After you complete the online and/or live training, you will be provided authorization to register with our independent testing company and take the closed-book, proctored exam at a location convenient to you. Is the Certified Retirement Financial Advisor™ certificate approved in California or any other State?
This is a training, and after the training, we grant graduates the right to use the credential. The Society of Certified Retirement Financial Advisors™ owns the rights to the credential (trademark and copyright law). This is similar to physicians getting together and creating an organization called the AMA (American Medical Association) or attorneys forming the ABA (American Bar Association). These organizations give training and then grant certificates to their members that they are "certified" in a particular specialty. The AMA and ABA are private professional organizations, not licensed by any governmental authority, just like the Society of Certified Retirement Financial Advisors™ or the CFP® board. Click Here for a Progess Update on Accreditation Other questions?
Please e-mail inquire(at)crfa.us or call 888-880-CRFA (we appreciate emails in order to serve you most efficiently) Top To register for training please see our page on training options. | 
